• Business Overview
• Event Outline
• Contact Information

Business Overview

As education and research at higher education institutions become more advanced and complex, SD has been mandatory since 2017, and it is expected that faculty and staff will further improve their qualifications and promote faculty-staff collaboration.
In addition, the environment surrounding higher education institutions is changing rapidly, and university staff are increasingly required to acquire broad knowledge and high levels of expertise. The
SD joint training program is a project aimed at reducing expenses for member universities by taking advantage of economies of scale, with the aim of improving staff capabilities and streamlining and enhancing university operations.
Please use it as an opportunity to exchange information and build networks across universities.

Event Outline

Organizer:

The Consortium of Universities, Kyoto

* Priority will be given to universities and junior colleges affiliated with the University Consortium Kyoto
on a first-come, first-served basis. * If the capacity is exceeded, participation may be refused.
* Please note that if the number of applicants falls far below the capacity, the course may not be held.

■ Business etiquette that becomes easier to understand the more you learn

1. Training Overview

• Students will learn the necessary knowledge as university staff, business etiquette, and the basics of how to proceed with work, and acquire the ability to adapt to the job and workplace.
• Most of the problems that young employees encounter at their new workplaces are related to speaking. For example, not reporting, not being able to use honorific language, not answering the phone, making negative comments, etc. In other words, we will teach you how to approach “how to speak like a working adult,” which is important in educating new and young employees.
• In addition, whether or not you can accurately grasp the other person’s intentions and requests depends largely on the “listening skills” of the person you are speaking with. In order to hear the necessary information without any excess or deficiency, we will teach you how to listen with your whole body (ears, mouth, eyes, head, body, and mind) and effective questioning techniques to obtain information yourself.

2. Key points for training management

• By establishing a flow for each topic from lectures (injecting knowledge) to exercises (practice), we achieve “input ⇒ strengthening practical skills through output.”
• The training will involve role-playing and telephone practice exercises based on actual situations.
• Participants will be given “training sheets” that they create themselves by writing down what they have learned and their thoughts, allowing them to concentrate better during the course.

Date and Time

May 9, 2025 (Friday) 10:00-16:00

venue

Campus Plaza Kyoto

Target audience

Young employees (1st to 2nd year)	Mid-career (up to 10 years in the job)	Proficient (10+ years of service and managers)
○

*Newly hired employees (full-time, contract, temporary, and temporary staff) and those not eligible can also participate.

Capacity

20 people

Participation Fee

Kyoto University Consortium member schools: 4,000 yen Others: 10,000 yen
* An invoice will be sent to you. Please transfer the amount to the specified account.
　　Deadline for transfer: Friday, May 2, 2025

Training Overview

Business Etiquette: Training Outline [Click here for details]

Lecturer

Speaking Education Center
Co.,
Ltd.

Application period

April 2, 2025 (Wednesday) 10:00 – April 25, 2025 (Friday) 17:00

Application

The application button will be updated at 10:00 on Wednesday, April 2nd.

■ Marketing on the Frontline: Capturing the Hearts of High School Students and Freshmen

With the declining birthrate, the environment surrounding university student recruitment (admissions public relations) is becoming increasingly severe. From the perspective of private school management, the emphasis has shifted from the traditional recruitment public relations method of widely disseminating information to marketing, which focuses on how to build a system that captures the trends of the times and makes students want to apply, and governance and organizational development that can execute this is required. In particular, in the Kansai region, there is a lively movement to relocate campus sites near major train stations to ensure a wider commuter base, and to actively establish and reorganize departments to become comprehensive universities in order to meet the wide range of needs of high school students. These are measures to survive, but at the root of them should be the future vision of the university that the university wants to aim for, or in other words, a guideline for branding the university.
In this seminar, we will organize the ideas of marketing and branding from the perspective of university public relations, and hope to provide an opportunity to reconsider whether the efforts being made at one’s own university are marketing-oriented or whether they are systematic and continuous efforts as part of branding.

Date and Time

Friday, June 6, 2025, 13:00-16:00

venue

Campus Plaza Kyoto

Target audience

Young (Employed up to 5 years)	Mid-career (up to 10 years in the job)	Proficient (10+ years of service and managers)
○	○

Capacity

25 people

Participation Fee

Kyoto University Consortium member schools: 1,000 yen Others: 4,000 yen
* An invoice will be sent. Please transfer the amount to the specified account.
　　Transfer deadline: Monday, June 2, 2025

Training Overview

Marketing Frontline ~Captivating the Hearts of High School Students and Freshmen~ Training Outline [Click here for details]

Lecturer

Professor, Faculty of Regional Revitalization, Department of Regional Revitalization,
Taisho University
Director, Japan Association of Public Relations

Application period

Wednesday, April 23, 2025 10:00-Friday, May 23, 2025 17:00

Application

The application button will be updated at 10:00 on Wednesday, April 23rd.

■ University Management and Higher Education Policy in an Era of Hypercompetition

The environment surrounding universities is changing dramatically, with an unprecedented decline in the 18-year-old population, changes in the industrial structure and post-graduation employment environment due to globalization and technological innovation, and more. In addition, the rate of population decline and changes in the employment structure are not uniform across the country, but vary greatly from region to region. Therefore, different knowledge responses are required depending on the region and position in which the university is located. Rather than an extension of the current situation, a “discontinuous” reform that differs from the past is required. The “Sum of Knowledge” report this time stated that reforms will be carried out from the perspectives of “quality,” “access,” and “scale” with an eye toward such a future. How should individual universities respond to such major changes? To do this, it is essential to cultivate the capabilities of each employee belonging to the university and to foster an organizational culture that can respond to change. I would like to think together about the future of universities and my own future career.

Date and Time

Friday, June 27, 2025 13:00-16:00

venue

Campus Plaza Kyoto

Target audience

Young (Employed up to 5 years)	Mid-career (up to 10 years in the job)	Proficient (10+ years of service and managers)
	○	○

*Those who are not eligible can also participate.

Capacity

25 people

Participation Fee

Kyoto University Consortium member schools: 1,000 yen Others: 4,000 yen
* An invoice will be sent. Please transfer the amount to the specified account.
　　Transfer deadline: Monday, June 23, 2025

Training Overview

University Management and Higher Education Policy in an Era of Hypercompetition Training Outline [Click here for details]

Lecturer

Hiroshi Kobayashi,
Director of Recruit Shingaku Soken,
Editor-in-Chief of Recruit’s “College Management”

Application period

Wednesday, May 14, 2025 10:00 to Friday, June 13, 2025 17:00

Application

The application button will be updated at 10:00 on Wednesday, May 14th.

■ Successful DX and Unsuccessful DX

With the declining birthrate and rapid digitalization of society, universities are being asked to enhance their education and research functions and strengthen their management base. In order to respond to this external environment, digital transformation (DX) of operations is essential. DX not only improves operational efficiency, but also contributes to improving the quality of student services and education. This training program allows staff to understand the significance of operational improvement and digital transformation, review the work they are responsible for, and consider the direction of improvement.

[Training objective]
Learn about ways to streamline administrative work and the latest technology (DX) in order to increase time spent with students and improve the quality of education.

[Training goals]
・Understand the definition and purpose of DX.
・Learn the steps of business improvement and success and failure cases at other universities.
・Be able to review your own business and come up with a direction for improvement.

Date and Time

July 2, 2025 (Wednesday) 13:00-17:00

venue

Campus Plaza Kyoto

Target audience

Young (Employed up to 5 years)	Mid-career (up to 10 years in the job)	Proficient (10+ years of service and managers)
○	○	○

Capacity

30 people

Participation Fee

Kyoto University Consortium member schools: 4,000 yen Others: 10,000 yen
* An invoice will be sent. Please transfer
　　the amount to the specified account. Deadline: Friday, June 27, 2025

Training Overview

Successful DX and Unsuccessful DX Training Overview [Click here for details]

<Pre-assignment>
Please identify the work you are responsible for and its process (procedures and deliverables), and summarize the problems with the work and your ideas for improvement in the designated Excel sheet. On the day of the event, group work (exchange of opinions) will be carried out based on this sheet.

Lecturer

Mr. Takeshi Shibata,

Consulting Department, Educe Co., Ltd.

Application period

May 21, 2025 (Wednesday) 10:00 to June 17, 2025 (Tuesday) 17:00

Application

The application button will be updated at 10:00 on Wednesday, May 21st.

■ Basic knowledge of research support

In recent years, a decline in Japan’s research capabilities has been pointed out. In order to improve the research capabilities of the whole of Japan and promote the creation of new value, the government is promoting the support of “Internationally Outstanding Research Universities” through the so-called 10 trillion yen university fund and the strengthening of the functions of “Regional Core and Distinctive Research Universities” through the “Regional Core and Distinctive Research University Comprehensive Promotion Package”.
The former aims to realize a world-class research university that produces internationally outstanding research results, and Tohoku University was the first to be certified in December 2024. For the latter, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will open a call for applications for the “Regional Core and Distinctive Research University Strengthening Promotion Project” from 2023 to 2024, and select 25 universities. Regional core and distinctive research universities are required to form a group of research universities that will lead Japan’s research capabilities by strengthening their strengths in specific fields and promoting effective collaboration between universities.
Until now, research support at universities may have been seen as the work of departments specialized in research activities such as industry-academia collaboration, intellectual property, and research funding. However, today’s universities are not just educational institutions, but are also expected to play the role of research institutions that utilize and strengthen the strengths and characteristics of their research to solve various social issues from the local to global level, and to lead to regional revitalization and innovation. In other words, it is important to recognize that research activities and their results are closely related to other aspects of the university (improving the quality of education, nurturing and utilizing diverse human resources, improving brand value, reforming financial structure, etc.) and mutually influence each other.
In this training, we will learn the basics of traditional work content in research support departments and understand their modern roles and significance, and we will recognize the connection between the departments and work you are engaged in and “research,” and think together about how to increase the value of your current departments and work.

Date and Time

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 13:00-16:00

venue

Campus Plaza Kyoto

Target audience

Young (Employed up to 5 years)	Mid-career (up to 10 years in the job)	Proficient (10+ years of service and managers)
○

*Those who are not eligible can also participate.

Capacity

25 people

Participation Fee

Kyoto University Consortium member schools: 1,000 yen Others: 4,000 yen
* An invoice will be sent. Please transfer
　　the amount to the specified account. Deadline: Friday, July 18, 2025

Training Overview

Research Support Basics Training Overview [Click here for details]

<Pre-assignment>
・Please choose one research activity from your university and briefly summarize in one PowerPoint slide how it can be used in society.
*The format is free.
*This will be used in group work on the day.

Lecturer

Mitsushige Hirose,
Deputy Director of Research, Ritsumeikan University, Transition Director of J-PEAKS

Application period

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 10:00 to Wednesday, July 9, 2025 17:00

Application

The application button will be updated at 10:00 on Wednesday, June 11th.

■ Fundraising at the forefront

In recent years, fundraising (activities to solicit donations) has been attracting attention at universities. This is because, as Japan’s financial situation becomes increasingly severe, universities are increasingly required to strengthen their acquisition of external funds such as donations.
In this context, there is a lot of room for growth in university fundraising in Japan, and furthermore, if continued in an appropriate manner, it is believed to be a means to secure stable financial resources that can lead to maintaining and expanding the donor base.
This program aims to provide an opportunity for participants to strengthen their own university’s donation strategy by explaining the “Seven Steps of University Fundraising” necessary for creating an effective donation strategy and providing case studies.

Date and Time

Friday, August 29, 2025 13:00-16:00

venue

Campus Plaza Kyoto

Target audience

Young (Employed up to 5 years)	Mid-career (up to 10 years in the job)	Proficient (10+ years of service and managers)
○	○	○

Capacity

25 people

Participation Fee

Kyoto University Consortium member schools: 1,000 yen Others: 4,000 yen
* An invoice will be sent. Please transfer the amount to the specified account.
　　Transfer deadline: Monday, August 25, 2025

Training Overview

Fundraising Frontline Training Overview [Click here for details]

<Pre-assignment>
As pre-learning for a meaningful discussion, please read the free eight-part series “University Fundraising Efforts as Seen in the Annual Performance Reports of National University Corporations” (MEXT Educational Journal, June 12, 2022 – September 20, 2022) , or, if possible, “A Guide to University Fundraising: A Donation Strategy Based on the ‘Seven Steps'” (purchase required) , and organize your own understanding of the implementation status of each of the “Seven Steps” at your university (what is being done and what is not being done).

Lecturer

Mr. Koichi Suyama, Chief
of Planning and Research Section, General Affairs Division, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University

Application period

July 10, 2025 (Thursday) 10:00 to August 8, 2025 (Friday) 17:00

Application

The application button will be updated at 10:00 on Thursday, July 10th.

■ Introduction to assertiveness training for building rich human relationships

This half-day course will provide you with a concise lesson on assertive communication techniques for conveying “difficult things.” The goal is to acquire the skills to honestly express your opinions while respecting the other person’s situation and feelings.

◆Training points
① Understand your own communication patterns
② Learn how to listen so that the other person feels “easy to talk to” and “listened to”
③ Practice how to communicate in a way that doesn’t make the other person uncomfortable, the DESC method and “I messages”

Date and Time

Friday, December 19, 2025 13:00-16:00

venue

Campus Plaza Kyoto

Target audience

Young (Employed up to 5 years)	Mid-career (up to 10 years in the job)	Proficient (10+ years of service and managers)
○	○

*Those who are not eligible can also participate.

Capacity

25 people

Participation Fee

Kyoto University Consortium member schools: 4,000 yen Others: 10,000 yen
* An invoice will be sent. Please transfer the amount to the specified account.
　　Transfer deadline: Monday, December 15, 2025

Training Overview

Introduction to Assertiveness Training for Building Rich Relationships Training Overview [Click here for details]

Lecturer

Yukari Takeuchi,

Insource Co., Ltd.

Application period

November 6, 2025 (Thursday) 10:00 – December 5, 2025 (Friday) 17:00

Application

The application button will be updated at 10:00 on Thursday, November 6th.

Contact Information

Consortium of Universities Kyoto SD Project, Public Interest Foundation
TEL: 075-353-9163 FAX: 075-353-9101
Campus Plaza Kyoto, Nishinotoin-dori Shiokoji-sagaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8216
*Business hours: Tuesday to Saturday 9:00-17:00 (excluding New Year holidays)